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| The Inova Center for Personalized Health. |
In 2017, Inova opened a Center for Personalized Health and a Conference Center in existing buildings that had housed ExxonMobil’s corporate headquarters. Inova got a long-term lease on the property after the corporation moved out in 2014.
The nomination for a site-specific comprehensive plan amendment calls for retrofitting the entire 117-acre property to accommodate medical research and other uses and higher density. Inova wants to use the site for healthcare facilities, offices, multifamily housing, retail, restaurants, a hotel, and an internal grid of streets.
Phase 1 would consist of an additional 5 million square feet of development on the western portion of the property with a 1.0 FAR (floor to area ratio). Maximum building heights would be raised from six to 14 stories, and there would be “one iconic tower up to 22 stories.”
The nomination breaks it down as 1,550 multifamily units, 2.8 million square feet of office uses, 100,000 square feet of retail, and 850,000 square feet of institutional uses.
The nomination includes an option for a future Phase 2 with up to 15 million square of development with a 3.0 FAR.
“This is a 20-year build-out,” said Mike Wing, the land use specialist in Providence Supervisor Linda Smyth’s office. “It’s almost like another town center. It would be substantially larger than the Mosaic District.”
The Statement of Justification submitted by Inova Health Care Services says the nomination furthers the work of Inova “to establish a health and wellness destination, where public and private investments in discovery will improve the health and quality of life for all Fairfax County residents and attract new economic development benefitting the county and the commonwealth.”
It also says the project would depend on the future establishment of transit along Gallows Road. The impact on traffic would likely require a comprehensive transportation analysis, Wing said. He also notes that access to the site is problematic. There are only two access points, both on Gallows Road.
The Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for June 21 on the Inova proposal. Smyth is expected to begin a community engagement process in early April.
The Personalized Health Center includes the Personalized Health Accelerator, which supports medical-related startups, and the Translational Medicine Institute. The Dwight and Martha Schar Cancer Institute is scheduled to open later this year.